WAIT!! There's something nobody mentioned - I think there's a LUMP SUM DEATH PAYMENT of $255 you should get regardless of the monthly benefit stuff. Don't forget to ask about that!!!

I'm so sorry for your loss, Natalia. Going through this while grieving is incredibly difficult. I went through a similar situation with my late ex-husband's benefits about 3 years ago. From my experience, the key thing to understand is that your survivor benefit will be based on what he was actually receiving (since he claimed early), but you can still maximize YOUR portion by waiting until your FRA at 67. Here's what helped me: I gathered all the documents first - death certificate, our marriage certificate, divorce decree, and his last SS statement if you have it. Then I made an appointment at my local SSA office rather than trying to call. The in-person visit was much more productive. One thing that surprised me was that they could run the calculations on the spot to show me exactly what I'd get if I claimed now versus waiting until my FRA. In my case, waiting made a significant difference because it avoided the early claiming reduction on the survivor benefit. Also, since you're already receiving your own benefits, they'll just pay you the difference if the survivor amount is higher. It's not like you get both - you get the higher of the two amounts. The whole process took about 6 weeks once I applied, so don't expect it to be immediate. But definitely get the ball rolling soon so you understand your options.

To respond to your question about making an appointment - yes, you can schedule a phone appointment with SSA now to get benefit estimates, even if you're two years away from eligibility. When you call, specifically ask for an appointment to discuss ex-spouse benefits. Having an appointment is much better than trying to get this information during a regular call, as the representative will have time to pull all relevant records before speaking with you.

As someone who's been through this process, I wanted to add that you should also be aware of the timing considerations. If you're planning to claim ex-spouse benefits at your FRA (which sounds smart based on the advice here), make sure you apply about 3-4 months before you want your benefits to start. The application process can take some time, and you don't want any delays in receiving your first payment. Also, regarding finding out your benefit amount - in addition to calling SSA directly, you can create a my Social Security account online at ssa.gov. While it won't show your ex-spouse benefit estimate initially, once you're within a few months of eligibility, you can use their online benefit calculators and retirement estimator tools. Just another option to consider alongside calling them directly. The key takeaway from everyone's responses is that yes, there are caps, but they're based on the maximum possible Social Security benefit, not arbitrary limits. Your ex's wealth beyond his Social Security-covered earnings won't help you, but if he consistently maxed out his SS contributions, you could still receive a decent benefit at 50% of his PIA.

Just be careful with the working part - if ur under FRA and collecting ANY SS benefits there's an earnings limit. Think it's around $20k for 2025. If u earn more than that they take back $1 for every $2 over the limit. Once u hit FRA no more earnings limit.

One thing I'd add to the excellent advice here - since you're still working part-time, you might want to consider whether continuing to work and delay claiming survivor benefits until closer to your FRA could boost your own retirement benefit calculation. Each year you work (even part-time) can potentially replace lower-earning years in your benefit calculation, which could make that $1,850 projection at age 70 even higher. The SSA uses your highest 35 years of earnings, so if you have some low or zero years in your record, even modest part-time earnings now could help. You can create a my Social Security account online to see your current benefit estimates and earnings record.

To address your original question from another angle: if you hadn't started collecting retirement benefits yet, and your disability was expected to last 12+ months, applying for SSDI might have made financial sense. SSDI payments are roughly equivalent to your full retirement age benefit, even if you're not at FRA yet. For example, if your full retirement age benefit would be $2,000 at age 67, but you took early retirement at 63 receiving perhaps $1,600, SSDI would have paid closer to the $2,000 amount. For future reference for others reading this thread: it's sometimes advantageous to apply for SSDI rather than taking early retirement if you have a qualifying disability.

Just wanted to add that you should also check if your warehouse job qualifies for any workers' compensation benefits if the knee problems are work-related from all the physical demands. Even if it's not a specific workplace injury, some cumulative conditions can qualify. Also, since you're still working part-time while collecting retirement, make sure you're staying under the earnings limit ($22,320 for 2024 if you're under full retirement age) or SSA might reduce your benefits. Best of luck with your surgery - knee replacements have come a long way and most people do really well with them!

my cousin works for SSA she says their computers are from the stone age and everything takes 10x longer than it should! better safe than sorry apply early!!!

I went through this process last year and want to echo what others have said - definitely apply online and start early! I applied exactly 4 months before my intended start date and it worked out perfectly. The online application saved me so much time compared to my friends who went in person. One thing I didn't see mentioned yet: make sure you have your most recent tax return handy when you apply. They asked me about my previous year's earnings during the application process. Also, create your my Social Security account online beforehand if you haven't already - it makes the application process smoother and you can track the status afterward. Good luck with your retirement!